It has become essential to have a clean and healthy workspace, both for employees, and visitors. An important part of any office cleaning process is to ensure any high-touch areas are regularly cleaned and sanitised.
High-touch areas
Before we focus on the five most overlooked areas in offices that need regular cleaning, you need to understand what high-touch areas are. These are surfaces and areas that are touched frequently by many people throughout the day. These are areas that harbour viruses and bacteria responsible for spreading illness. Common high-touch areas in offices include light switches, lift buttons, wash rooms, shared equipment, and door handles.
Areas that are often touched are prone to germs and bacteria accumulation, due to them constantly being touched by humans. When someone with contamination touches a surface, they leave a pathogen behind that can be transferred to the next person. This is a vicious cycle that can soon see a high rate of absenteeism, as your staff fall ill as a result.
Certain areas require regular cleaning than others. The five overlooked areas that need regular cleaning throughout the day include:
Door handles are touched by everyone walking into and out of your office. This makes these areas high risk areas for spreading germs. In most office environments, these areas are cleaned once a day, maybe even once a week, if remembered. Door handles should be cleaned and disinfected numerous times a day. Both sides of the handle should be cleaned and allowed to air dry.
Light switches are another area that should be cleaned on a regular basis. Similar to door handles, these areas are touched repeatedly throughout the day, becoming home to lots of germs and bacteria. Strangely, they are another overlooked area in the office that needs to be cleaned regularly. A quick wipe down with disinfectant can reduce the risk of spreading germs, keeping this area clean and healthy.
If your office is located on a high floor in a building, then chances are every person walking into your office has touched the lift button. These are often overlooked, yet remain the highest risk area in your office. These should be cleaned numerous times a day, depending on the volume of foot traffic to ensure they are free of germs and hygienic to use.
Wash rooms should never only be cleaned once a day, especially in busy office environments. Wash room surfaces should be cleaned numerous times a day, including toilet handles, sink taps, and counter tops. Pay close attention for areas that may be missed, including under the toilet seat.
These days hybrid and shared office spaces are common place, this means many people will share the same printers, keyboards, mice, chairs, and desks. This can result in these areas harbouring dangerous bacteria and germs, that could increase absenteeism. They are also often overlooked. Shared equipment should be cleaned and sanitised after each person has used them, having them ready for the next person. In many offices this means cleaning these areas multiple times daily.
The above is the five most overlooked areas in offices that should be cleaned regularly. Regular cleaning is determined by foot traffic and other factors. To ensure you don't miss these most overlooked areas, consider hiring the professionals to keep your office spotless and healthy. Get in touch with Sloane Cleaning Services today to find out more.